5 Ways to Thrive as an Introvert

How to prosper in a society that favors extroverts.

If you’re an introvert, you’ve probably noticed that the world tends to be designed for everyone who’s well — not you. It may seem that in this world where everyone’s becoming gradually more extroverted through social media and technology that you’re becoming more left out of the mix. This article will lay out a few tips to help introverts like yourself thrive and live a prosperous life despite society’s trend towards favoring extroverts.

Use Social Media to your Advantage — Many social media websites do not require you to manifest your own content in order to fill up your page or profile. Nowadays, if you view a piece of content that you find that relates to you or speaks for you perfectly then you can share it directly with your audience. This way you can communicate with others without having to manifest content and go too far out of your shell. This helps you to be involved and express yourself without having to do so directly, until you find your voice or are comfortable to express yourself — online.

Hang Around Extroverts — This may seem counterintuitive since extroverts are usually social animals and you, well, you may prefer to be a little more reserved. However, this pairing is usually a good mix since you as an introvert are perfect for listening! This is something that extroverts love because you listening to them makes them feel valued and respected. In turn, they will show you that same value and respect whenever you do decide to speak or engage them with a response. This can be very helpful when building friends or genuine connections.

Utilize the Opportunity to be More Productive — As an introvert, you likely won’t be as into partying, socializing, and interacting as your extrovert counterparts are. However, this can confer a tremendous advantage in terms of how productive you can be. Extroverts can struggle sometimes with completing tasks because they are always distracted by their social endeavors. But you as an introvert can thrive by using your time away from social events and functions for more productive tasks.

Aim To Achieve Better Mindfulness — A new philosophy that is attracting a lot of attention today is the idea of ‘mindfulness’, which is the practice of being consciously aware of where you are and what you’re doing in a given moment rather than being trapped in your thoughts as you move throughout the day. This has been shown to reduce your level of self-consciousness, anxiety, and general apprehension. As an introvert, this is often a little easier for you to do than extroverts.

Observe and Learn — It goes without saying that when you’re able to look and listen, you can take in various stimuli and feedback from your surrounding environment and subsequently learn from it. Since extroverts are so focused on the outward, they do not usually take the time to carefully evaluate present matters. When one is always talking or interacting, they are not always actively listening. And when one is focused on projecting their inner outwards, as extroverts do, one is not able to perceive all of the nuanced reactions and feedback in their surroundings that may give them a better idea of where they stand.

Take the opportunity as an introvert to continually observe people, their behaviors, the world around you but most importantly your own intentions and goals so that you can navigate with greater intelligence, knowledge and self awareness. If you can get in the practice of doing this combined with the actions listed above, it will confer a tremendous advantage for you in 2017.